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Risk assessment ensures a daycare setting is safe and healthy for staff, children and parents. Most states require that you comply with specific requirements that mitigate violations that could pose risk of harm to children before issuing daycare licenses. In addition, child daycare services are classified in the social services industry, subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, standards that require formal risk assessments to be carried out.

Identify Hazards

Risk assessment ensures you identify and document those hazards likely to harm staff and children at the daycare. It encourages staff to be conscious about what could go wrong in order to control the situation before illness or injuries occur. A hazard is anything that can potentially cause harm, including toys and equipment, security of entry points and exits, unattended children, cleaning materials and disinfectants as well as biologics such as airborne and blood-borne infections. For each hazard, assign a weight factor denoting the expectancy of harm occurring, which can range from "certain" to "never."

Who is at Risk

You'll need to write down who could be harmed by each hazard you have identified, and how. Typically the level of risk will correspond with job functions, with some groups of people requiring special consideration -- those more vulnerable to certain hazards. For example, those performing diapering and constantly handling children are more likely to contract blood-borne pathogens. Walking around the daycare and all other areas noting potential hazards, looking at the accident book to understand any previous accidents and talking to staff to listen to their concerns and opinions will help you develop an appropriate risk evaluation.

Control Procedures and Emergency Planning

Control measures are procedures or actions that need to be taken to eliminate or reduce risks. Write down what controls, if any, are in place to manage each of the hazards. If you don't consider existing controls good enough, write down what else needs to be done. Prioritize which hazards need remedying based on the likelihood of injury or harm and the consequences, which could range from trivial -- such as a scratch -- to severe or even fatal. Include emergency planning by determining what arrangements should be made for dealing with an accident or serious incident.

Follow Up

Make the risk evaluation available to staff so that they can put the recommendations into practice. If possible, each staff member should make sure each identified action is done and tick each one off once it's completed. This can also be used as part of the induction process for new staff. Periodically review and update the risk assessment if necessary. This can be annually or straightaway when there are major changes at the daycare, such as the introduction of new equipment.

About the Author

Dr Jack Gordon, the Chief Technology Officer at Strontium Logistics, is a 20-year veteran of the engineering and marketing business who favors stiff drinks, good debates and developing innovative digital marketing strategies to help companies grow.